


Closer than you thought

by cristallodineve



Series: How to save a life's universe [5]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Abusive Parents, M/M, Stealing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-09
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2018-08-20 10:23:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8245630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cristallodineve/pseuds/cristallodineve
Summary: Joonmyeon and Yixing are secretly friends with benefits. They don't know much about each other, though, and they never felt really close, until something shows Joonmyeon in a different light.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Here I am, again! This is the last part of the foster home boys' standalone separate stories. I am seriously considering writing some more about Sehun and Luhan and their new life in China, and I actually might do it... but for now, I'll just ~~shamelessly~~ pimp my other long and epic fic, _Our hearts met under the full moon_. Check it out and let me know what you think of it. I love all you guys for the continuous love and support!  
>  As usual, English is not my native language, blah blah blah.

Guitar club was finally over, and Yixing was waiting for the bus to return home. There were a lot of people from school at the bus stop, but he didn’t feel the need of talking with anyone. If someone had watched the scene from the school’s windows, he would have seen a fairly handsome guy, tall and well-built, staring at his cell phone with a blank face.

Actually, Yixing was waiting for a text. He tried killing time playing some online game, but he got bored fast and he just stopped, leaning his back on the cold wall, thinking of nothing. Or better, he actually was thinking about something... something he probably shouldn’t.

Finally, his phone rang. The text was there, and it was Joonmyeon’s.

_Hello. Can you come blow me up? I’m lonely. :,(_

Yixing smiled. He’d known Joonmyeon for a few years, since they lived together at the foster home, and they got along fairly well, until they both discovered the joy of friends with benefits, and they started getting along even better. At first, Yixing had been cautious, afraid that this weird agreement would have somehow ruined their friendship, but contrary to any expectation, it improved it. Now, Joonmyeon and him were really inseparable, as if physical intimacy helped them feeling good together even when fully clothed. For example, Yixing totally ignored that Joonmyeon liked music and had a nice singing voice before that time when, after a quickie in the school toilets, the Korean actually told him, and then came to see him perform at the club. Because the truth was that Yixing liked blowing Joonmyeon cock (and vice versa, obviously), but he liked even more those small talks they would do afterwards.

It was just after Kyungsoo and Kai became a couple, though, that Yixing started wondering about their weird relationship. Feeling attraction for a guy might be normal for someone... but just for those who actually swung _that way_. And Yixing wasn’t gay... no, not at all. No goosebumps when watching guys changing in the locker room, no weird tingling or butterflies in his stomach when looking at handsome actors on TV, even if half-naked. His thing with Joonmyeon, also, could just hardly be considered a thing... they might enjoy hanging up together, but there were no feelings involved, as in romantic feelings. Even if they sometimes blew each other’s cock.

He got on the bus, standing by the door because the seats were all occupied, and he kept thinking. In the foster home, some guys were actually gay. Kyungsoo and Kai were just the last couple that came out, since Tao and Yi Fan got together much before, and even the two educators in charge of the boys, Chen and Xiumin, were in a relationship since forever. Also, the new guy that arrived lately, Sehun, took immediately a little too much interest in the pretty and doe-eyed Luhan to be totally straight. Talking with Joonmyeon, Yixing had bet that he must be at least bisexual, while his friend decided he was gay without any doubts. Not that he had any actual problem with that, really... he’d been raised in a Catholic environment, but he was cool and open-minded. It wasn’t the same sex dating, what bothered him, but the feelings.

To Yixing, relationships (even heterosexual) were complicated. He messed around with a couple girls in the past, but they were excessively tiresome and annoying to him. All that dating stuff, drama, constant need of buying gifts or going out to eat felt pointless to him, and he grew tired fast.

With Joonmyeon, things were much easier. They could talk for hours without getting tired, play music together, watch movies and music shows on TV. Sometimes they fell asleep in the same bed, or they borrowed each other clothes, but it meant nothing.

Well, almost.

Yixing got off the bus and walked his way along the street. The foster home was a ugly building cornered between a bank and a small thrift shop. He stopped by quickly, just to see if they had a wool scarf, since it was getting cold and his old one went in the trash because he accidentally washed it at a high temperature trying to do his own laundry. He rummaged among the available ones, but he found nothing of his liking, so he just returned home.

On the threshold, he almost stumbled against Tao and Yi Fan making out. «Hello guys» he greeted them in Chinese, but they were too busy devouring each other’s face to reply properly. Yixing found especially fascinating how someone tough-looking as Tao could turn into a purring fluffy kitten when the tall and nerdy Yi Fan was around. Could  it be the power of love? He had no idea.

In the common room, he found Baekhyun playing Uno with Chanyeol and the new guy, Sehun. Luhan was nearby, pretending to read some book, but his eyes kept darting towards the blondie.

Wiping his hands on the apron he was wearing, Xiumin made his appearance. «Hello dear, how is your club activity going?»

«Fine, I think» Yixing replied, wincing when the man came closer to check a button of his coat, which was about to come off. «Please remind me to mend this later» he muttered, before walking back into the kitchen, where he surely had some pots to watch over.

Yixing smiled. He loved Xiumin, even if it took a lot of time to him to get used to his motherly attitude. At first it actually made him cringe, since he never lived in a proper family and never had people who took actually care of him around. Having been abandoned as a newborn, he just changed various orphanages and institutes until he’d been selected for Xiumin and Chen’s place, and the foster home was the closest to a loving family he ever had.

He climbed the stairs, dropping his schoolbag and coat in his room before knocking on Joonmyeon’s door. They were the only two in the foster home who didn’t have a roommate. «Who is it?»

«Room service» he muttered, before opening and coming in.

Joonmyeon was sprawled on the bed, and he tossed his phone away as soon as he saw him. «Xing-ge! I was starting to wonder if the aliens took you or something. Where have you been?»

«I needed a new scarf.»

«Let’s stop at the mall tomorrow, I’ll help you choose.»

«Thanks.»

They stared at each other for a second, then Yixing modestly turned his back and took off his sweater, while Joonmyeon did the same. When he turned again, he noticed that the shorter guy was smiling a little sheepishly. «This is always the most awkward moment, isn’t it?»

«Yes, it is.»

«Well, being young and not having a girlfriend sucks, right?»

«Right.»

Joonmyeon burst out laughing. «Come here, then.»

Yixing closed the distance between them, palming his way down his friend’s lower abdomen. Joonmyeon was handsome, with his classic features and petite body, but he was surprisingly well-endowed, and he felt his big cock hardening against the fabric of his trousers as soon as he touched it. Bending his head, he bit lightly on the tender skin just above the juncture of the boy’s neck and shoulder, indulging over it with his lips. They had just a few rules: no girly stuff like hugs and cuddling, and absolutely no kisses, since none of them was gay. Wanting to test him, Yixing purposely pressed his mouth on the boy’s exposed collarbone.

«What are you doing, ge?» Joonmyeon immediately asked, squirming away a bit.

«Does it feel good?»

«It does, but...»

«Then, let me do it.» And he quickly swept the tip of his tongue over the hard bone. «You taste nice.»

When he lifted his head, though, his eyes met the other boy’s. «Remember the rules, ge? No kisses.» Joonmyeon said, lifting an eyebrow.

«I was just...»

«No. Kisses.»

«Fine» Yixing shrugged, tugging at Joonmyeon’s shirt. «Shall I continue?»

Finally, the boy smiled again, that carelessly, sly smile that he wore most of the time. He pulled Yixing until he leant his back against the wall, throwing his head back and exposing his Adam’s apple. «Please. Sorry for the interruption.»

Quite pleased with himself, Yixing noticed that he left a small hickey where he sucked on his neck previously. For some reason, the sight of it made him really horny, as he knelt down and started working Joonmyeon’s pants open. Contentiously, he placed another small kiss right above the elastic of his boxers. «Not going to argue on this one, are you?»

«Can you shut the fuck up and just do it? You’re all blabber, today.»

Yixing smiled again, since he knew that Joonmyeon wasn’t going to be annoyed with him for long. They never fought, since they started their unconventional agreement. Being intimate physically actually built a strong bond of trust between themselves. Like a married couple, Yixing mentally added, before blinking, dumbfounded.

Where the hell did _that_ come from, now?

«Xing-ge» Joonmyeon called him, «what’s wrong?»

«Nothing.»

Slowly, as he learnt, he pressed his lips over the fabric of Joonmyeon’s underwear, feeling his cock stir against its confinement. It was hot and firm, and he knew precisely what was the exact spot where, if he stayed perfectly still, he could feel a certain vein where he could easily detect the boy’s increasing pulse.

It was so hot.

«You’re such a tease» Joonmyeon purred.

Yixing pulled the fabric with his teeth, baring the milky skin underneath and the dark, sparse hair. He liked the way they tickled the tip of his nose.

Slowly, he caressed the entire length of the bared cock with the tip of his tongue. Joonmyeon moaned in the back of his throat, arching a little against the wall, as Yixing teased his slit, pulling back his foreskin. «Please» he begged, «please. I’ve wanted this for the whole day.»

«Really?» Yixing wondered, surprised. Actually, he’d been thinking about it too, and it felt nice, knowing that Joonmyeon had been anticipating their little session together as well.

«Yeah» the boy replied, with a little dazed smile. «During  History class. I was bored and my mind kept drifting away... and suddenly I found myself thinking of your mouth around my cock, and I got hard right there, during class. I started squirming on my chair and crossing my legs, because I was afraid it could show.»

«Wow» Yixing commented, suddenly at a loss for words. Was he supposed to tell that it happened to him too? Or was he just supposed to keep going and ignore those words? Their rules didn’t contemplate that kind of stuff, but it almost sounded wrong, saying it aloud. Anticipating being blown off by his best friend? And then nagging him for the smallest of kisses? Sometimes Joonmyeon was just a big, walking contradiction.

And it made him wonder what he actually knew about him.

Slowly, he engulfed his length in his mouth, starting to suck without gagging himself. It took him a bit of practise, to manage doing it without feeling the need to puke his guts out, but now it felt easy. And the stifled whimpers of pleasure that Joonmyeon let out while he expertly licked and sucked on him were enough to make him hard as well.

Yixing’s left hand curled up around his friend’s hipbone for leverage, while the other travelled back to touch his own raging hard-on. He fought with the tight button of his pants, then he managed to pull the zip with just one hand before his fingers finally brushed against his own cock, starting to pump it. Yixing liked it quick and intense, he wasn’t the kind that liked much foreplay.

«Hmm.» Joonmyeon’s hand tangled in his short hair, pulling him rather daringly. «I’m close.»

Another thing that drove Yixing crazy was a little roughness. And his friend knew it very well.

Just a few tugs and pulls, and his orgasm was already on his way, creeping slowly from the core of his body. Yixing hollowed his cheeks, sucking in, and he felt the familiar rush travel through Joonmyeon’s engorged length. He barely managed to pull away before he started spurting his thick cum. A little bit of it fell over his cheek, and he quickly swept it away with his tongue. It didn’t taste bad, but he knew Joonmyeon wouldn’t have liked it, if he just swallowed it, so he grabbed a tissue from the nearby desk to wipe away what stained the boy’s underwear and lower belly.

Stumbling over his unstable feet, Joonmyeon crashed languidly over the bed. When he was like that, with his eyes closed, mouth a little swollen and cheeks deliciously flushed, Yixing thought his face almost looked like the one of a beautiful girl.

Yixing let himself fall on the bed next to him, stretching out comfortably his arms and legs. He was tall, but he didn’t tower over Joonmyeon like Yi Fan or Tao. Their height difference was just okay, and never made them uncomfortable.

«Joonmyeon?»

«Yeah?»

«Nevermind.»

The truth was that Yixing felt the weird need to talk after the pleasure they shared, but his friend was a little touchy afterwards. Once he tried asking Joonmyeon if he ever thought about someone, while he blew his cock, and he got all grumpy and sullen, so Yixing decided that it was way better keeping silent and just caught their breath together.

Pulling on a sitting position, Joonmyeon fixed his slightly dampened fringe. «Would you like staying? We could watch a movie.»

«Sorry» Yixing kindly refused, still shuddering since his orgasm had been a powerful one, «but I need to study. I have a test tomorrow.»

Joonmyeon stared at him, the expression of his eyes unreadable. Was it hurt, what surfaced on those dark orbs? Yixing had no idea. He wasn’t good at detecting other people’s feelings, but when his friend looked at him in that way, he always felt a little guilty afterwards.

«Okay» Joonmyeon replied, «see you tomorrow, then.»

He bent down to get his sweater from the floor, and Yixing looked at the way the still reddish hickey he left on his skin disappeared under the collar. A nice sweater, he thought. He never noticed Joonmyeon wearing it... was it new? Somehow, the thought of him wearing something new just for their brief encounter moved him. Did he perhaps try looking good for him?

«Uh... Joonmyeon?»

«Yeah?»

Was a little hopefulness, what was showing through in that reply? Or was he just reading too much into things?

«That sweater» he ended up saying, gulping down a sudden lump that formed in his throat, «it looks good on you.»

Joonmyeon smiled, while a faint blush appeared on his cheeks. Or was it just a remnant of his recent orgasm? «Thanks, ge» he replied.

Yixing thought that the way he kept tugging at the cuffs to hide his fingers was the cutest thing he ever saw. It almost made him look like a bashful kid.

In the end, he really went into his room, but even if he tried his best, in front of the open textbook, he kept staring at the Korean characters as if he completely forgot what he learnt previously.

\---oOo---

«Try this one» Joonmyeon said, handing him a thick, red scarf. Obedient, Yixing tried it on, looking at himself in the mirror.

At the end, they really went to the mall, and Joonmyeon was being very patient and considerate helping him choose a nice scarf. The problem was that Yixing’s budget was limited, so he couldn’t really afford what he liked.

«What about this one?»

«Wow» Yixing stared at the cowl that Joonmyeon handed to him, «this is really nice.»

He tried it on, thinking that it felt wonderfully soft and comfy around his neck. It looked very stylish, also, black and made of a thick knitted yarn. When he checked the price tag, though, his heart sank. He knew it, he shouldn’t have tried it on without looking at the price before.

«What’s wrong?» Joonmyeon asked.

«Too expensive» Yixing scoffed. «Being a poor orphan really sucks.»

«It’s a shame, it suited you.»

«Do you think Xiumin can knit, besides mending stuff? I could ask him.» Yixing was joking, but Joonmyeon looked thoughtful, while he put the too expensive cowl back on the mannequin. «Hey, pal, no need to look that disappointed. I won’t cry over a scarf. I’ll just keep looking at the thrift shop, I’m sure sooner or later I’ll find something nice there too.»

He expected Joonmyeon to shrug it off with a laugh, but the boy snapped. «Yeah, but not as nice as that. Why people like us can never afford nice clothes and nice stuff? It’s unfair.»

Yixing stared at him, startled. Usually, Joonmyeon was a calm and laid-back boy, and he very rarely showed his emotions.

When the shop assistant trotted towards them, though, her heels tickling on the floor, asking if everything was alright, Joonmyeon started looking really uneasy. «Uh... can we just get out, Xing-ge? Sorry, but I feel suffocating.» Scared, Yixing noticed that he was pale and that his breath looked somewhat laboured.

«Are you okay, dear?» the shop assistant asked. «Would you like me to call 911?»

«It’s okay» Joonmyeon breathed, «I’ll be okay as soon as I leave this place.»

The girl, though, kept staring at him. «Did I already see you somewhere? Your face looks familiar.»

«N-no, I think you’re wrong.»

After thanking the shop assistant, Yixing led him out of the shop, shooing a few middle schoolers who were sitting on a bench to let him sit and catch his breath. He quickly went to a nearby café to get a bottle of fresh water, and he looked, worried, as Joonmyeon cleared half of it. «You scared me» he admitted, when the colour of his friend’s face returned normal, «you looked sick. Do you have asthma?»

«Yeah» Joonmyeon muttered, looking ashamed. «I always carry a inhalator in my bag, just in case I’d need it.»

«I didn’t know» Yixing murmured. That made him feel slightly guilty, for some reason. Maybe he was supposed to know more about the guy that saw him naked. The day before, just before going to bed, Joonmyeon knocked at Yixing’s door, and they started chatting as they usually did. Shortly after, though, the Korean boy was on his knees, his lips hovering over Yixing’s cock. When he woke up, much later, in the dead of the night, he found out that Joonmyeon was sleeping in his bed, all curled up like a baby, and that he hogged all the blankets to himself. That sight made him smile. Joonmyeon was just so cute, sometimes.

Gently, he swung his arm around Joonmyeon’s narrow shoulders. «Are you feeling better, now?»

«Yeah» the other replied, looking at him in the eyes for the quickest moment, «I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.»

«It’s alright.»

«And about that scarf...»

Yixing stared at him. They were close, and he could see how clear and flawless Joonmyeon’s skin was, almost like a girl’s. «Don’t buy anything in that horrible thrift shop» he said. «I’m sure I’ll manage to get something really nice for you. You deserve it.»

Yixing blinked. «I deserve it?»

«Yeah.» Joonmyeon’s cheeks were flushed, and he was stuttering a little. «B-because... well, there’s no because. But don’t buy anything there, okay?»

«Okay. Can we get home? You look... weird.»

«Yup. Did you hear? There’s a new couple in the foster home. Luhan and that new  Sehun guy.»

«Whoa.» Yixing was truly impressed. «Are they already fucking?»

«No idea, but I’m determined to find out. I’m sure Baekhyun knows, since he’s close with Sehun. What about asking him some saucy detail?»

Yixing laughed, but while walking home, he kept his arm firmly lodged around Joonmyeon’s slender waist, because his friend looked unusually unstable on his feet. He just hoped everything was alright with him.

Back at the foster home, Yixing led Joonmyeon upstairs and made sure he went straight to bed, because he was looking drained. He helped him get rid of his shoes and tie, then he tucked in his covers, just like a loving mom could have done.

«Just rest» he said, «I’ll tell Xiumin you’re not feeling well.»

«Can you stay?»

Actually, Yixing had been about to walk out of the room, and the question left him speechless. «Stay?»

«Yes, stay. Not to... not to do anything, just stay. Can you? I don’t want to be alone.»

«Sure» Yixing replied, without thinking, «if it’s what you want.»

He grabbed Joonmyeon’s chair and dragged it by the bed, sitting a little awkwardly and wondering, again, what kind of friendship did he and that weird guy share, if he got embarrassed just by keeping him company without doing sexy stuff or talking about meaningless things.

It felt empty, actually, and it made him almost sick.

«Why are you here, Joonmyeon?» he asked, when he felt he couldn’t stand the silence anymore. «Are you an orphan too?»

«No» the other boy replied, after a long pause, «I should still have a dad, somewhere.»

Yixing’s eyebrows knitted together. «Somewhere?»

«I think he’s still in prison.»

The words fell on him like a hammer. «What? In prison, but why...» He stopped, though, because the anguished expression that twisted Joonmyeon’s face, for a moment, startled him so much that he felt the almost irresistible temptation to run away.

He was always so close to him, and he never realized his friend carried all that pain inside.

«Once he kicked so hard that he broke my diaphragm. This is why I still have asthma.»

Yixing blocked the graphic image before it could actually take shape into his mind. He didn’t want to have nightmares, that night. «So... he abused you?»

Joonmyeon swallowed, and Yixing’s hand moved on its own, caressing his chest from over the sheets, before stopping on his belly. Kicking someone so hard to damage his internal organs was something that Yixing never even imagined in his wildest fantasies, and thinking that the victim of such a terrible beating was his closest friend was too shocking to accept.

«Not sexually» the boy whispered after a while, when he regained control over his voice, «just... he’d beat me hard if I didn’t get him what he wanted.»

Yixing couldn’t understand. «What he wanted?»

«Yeah. He forced me to steal stuff for him to sell illegally. He trained me very carefully since I was little.»

Yixing’s shock must have shown on his face, because Joonmyeon averted his gaze. «Oh, wow. Now I ruined everything, didn’t I?»

«Ruin what?» He was still unconsciously rubbing gentle circles over his belly, and Joonmyeon wasn’t stopping him, blabbering his usual “it’s a gay thing” complaints. It felt nice, being this close, for once. It felt special, and Yixing thought he was privileged. He could bet that Joonmyeon never showed that fragile side of him to anyone.

«Our friendship» the other murmured. «I mean... now that you know the truth about me, you’ll never look at me in the same way.»

«Why are you saying this?»

Joonmyeon moved to lay on his side, facing the wall. Slowly, Yixing’s hand moved to caress his hair. It was fuzzy, since he liked experimenting with dyes and colours, but he could feel the warmth radiating from his scalp on his fingertips. «At the shop, previously» he said, his voice coming suffocated by the thick covers and the pillow, «I actually considered the option of stealing that expensive accessory for you.»

Yixing froze. His fingers, which were threading through Joonmyeon’s hair, stopped halfway. «Joonmyeon» he whispered, but the other was unstoppable. He needed to vent out his frustration.

«It could have been the easiest thing in the world. I could have just waited for the shop assistant to get busy somewhere else, and I already noticed that the security cam was positioned at an advantageous angle for me. I’d have just needed to avoid showing my face towards it, and to be very quick shoving that thing into my school bag. I could have pretended to look for something while getting rid of the security tag and discarding it somewhere before going out, and voilà. Easy-peasy.»

Yixing was speechless. He couldn’t find anything to reply to that delirium. He just kept touching him, because now Joonmyeon was shivering hard, even if he was wrapped in the covers and fully clothed. He was afraid he was going to be sick again, and he tried calming him. «Sssh, it’s okay. Don’t talk, just rest.»

«When they caught me with a very expensive Bvlgari ring hidden in my pocket, I’ve been to a detention camp» Joonmyeon suddenly added, «and I’ve stayed there just for a month, but it was horrible. Thanks God Chen came to bring me here. Apparently, Xiumin decided that a foster home could have healed me better than that place.»

«So» Yixing gently said, «it’s them I have to be thankful to, if now you’re here with me.»

He cringed, when he heard himself say those words aloud. It made him sound so desperate and cheesy... but then the other boy spoke.

«Yeah» Joonmyeon unexpectedly replied, «you’re actually the best thing that happened to me in a lot of time.»

Slowly, Yixing bent down, leaning his head over the laying boy’s shoulder. He could feel his heartbeat echoing faintly beneath all those layers of fabric. Being this close, even if they shared moments way more private than that, felt strangely forbidden, like they were crossing a line that wasn’t meant to be there.

«Are you feeling better, now?» Yixing asked, nuzzling his cheek against the soft comforter.

«Yes» Joonmyeon replied. «But don’t go away, please.»

Yixing closed his eyes. «Relax» he whispered, «I’m not going anywhere.»

The day after, they both went to the thrift shop. They looked through all the clothes, but they couldn’t find anything they liked. They were about to go away, disappointed, already planning to look through Ebay or something, when Yixing noticed something black stuck in a corner of the big box containing beanies, scarf and gloves. He fished for it, and he saw it was a nice, bulky cowl just like the one he saw in that expensive shop at the mall.

He tried it on, and it suited him beautifully. Since there was a tiny hole in a corner, the shop assistant said he could take it for free, since it had been rolling around the shop for a while and nobody seemed to want it.

When they got home, Yixing immediately asked Xiumin to mend it, and after a few quick stitches, the cowl was like brand-new.

«How do I look?» Yixing asked, looking at his reflection in Joonmyeon’s mirror, «do I look nice?»

«Yes» the other breathed, in a somewhat strained voice, so that Yixing turned to check if he was okay, scared he could have another of his asthma attacks, but Joonmyeon was just staring at him, his eyes wide, his pupils dark and enlarged.

He stayed put, while the shorter boy approached him with a few quick steps. «You look... very nice.»

Yixing’s cheeks were burning so much that Joonmyeon’s fingertips felt cool on his skin, when he touched his face. «Really?» he asked in a very tiny voice.

«Really.»

They were close, now, the closest Yixing ever felt to him, and this had nothing to do with sex or being friends with benefits. It made him feel good, and made his heart swell.

«Can I...»

«What?»

«Uh...» Joonmyeon was struggling with words, and Yixing smiled.

«I am the Chinese immigrant, not you. You should know how to speak Korean.»

They shared a good laughter, that broke the tension still lingering between them. The thick cowl was making Yixing sweat a little, but he didn’t complain when Joonmyeon stood on his tiptoes and pressed his lips over his mouth.

«This...» Yixing panted, when they parted, «this might be considered a little gay, you know.»

«So?»

Yixing didn’t reply, kissing him again. And again.

And again.

 


End file.
